diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_version.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_version.h
index 9f4dd2af67..e0994fc3a2 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_version.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_version.h
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ extern "C" {
  *   0-15 = release candidates
  *   16   = release
  */
-#define RTE_VER_RELEASE 2
+#define RTE_VER_RELEASE 3
 
 /**
  * Macro to compute a version number usable for comparisons
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index fb0a768ff2..e8feec35d3 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # Copyright(c) 2017 Intel Corporation
 
 project('DPDK', 'C',
-	version: '18.08-rc2',
+	version: '18.08-rc3',
 	license: 'BSD',
 	default_options: ['buildtype=release', 'default_library=static'],
 	meson_version: '>= 0.41'